"Building a diverse supplier base is
important for Microsoft because we want our suppliers to reflect the diversity
of our customers," says Hernandez. "In today's highly
competitive market, strong supplier diversity programs provide the company with
an important strategic advantage."

Hernandez was nominated by Laurie Simon,
Founder and CEO of Ombrella, Inc. and Ombrella Consulting (http://www.ombrellausa.com/), a NWBOC
certified WBE located in Washington State. In her nomination Simon said,
"Fernando Hernandez truly understands the power and commitment that it
takes to work with small diverse companies and understands the value of doing
so. Fernando is our voice for Women in Business across the nation."

The NWBOC announces supplier diversity
winners with a company highlight in the bimonthly supplier diversity edition of
the NWBOC e-newsletter. Winners also receive a free six-month Buyer's
Registration to the NWBOC eProcurement MarketPlace (https://nwboc.economicengine.com).

The NWBOC eProcurement MarketPlace is an
interactive database that allows buyers to send bid opportunities to
women-owned companies or use it as a database. In addition, as vendors,
women business owners can do business with one another. All of the tools
are easy to use with no special equipment or training required. Buyers
can discover new vendors and enhance their WBE outreach, while WBEs increase
the ease of sales and grow their companies.

The NWBOC was established in 1995 for the
purpose of increasing competition for corporate and government contracts
through implementation of a pioneering economic development strategy for women
business owners. NWBOC is a national 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, and
is the first third party, national certifier providing WBE Certification.